Track short-circuiting device



June 12, 1951 c, c

TRACK SHORT-CIRCUITING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 15, 1947 FIEE.

' INVENTOR. dame: CT Mock June 12, 1951 J. c. MOCK 2,556,733

TRACK SHDRT-CIRCUITING DEVICE Filed Jan. 15, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 JNVEN TOR.

James 6. Mock ATTORNEYJ' Patented June 12, 1951 res t:

Ar-NT OFFICE TRACK sHoRT-omcnrrmdpnvror:

' 1 Thepre entinvention relates to railway track circuit. shunt measurin mean an has among. itsuobjectsthe prpvision of a device for quickly and.,eaily shunting and measuringsuch circuits. In the modern railway signaling system, the rails. of; he rack. are bond d. g th to m electric conductors to, carry currents which throu h-su table a peret an appliances actuate the signals of the system. When such track circuits become broken through accident, or weakened; by leakage, or affected by foreign currents, it becomes highly important to locate and rep s h circuits Even when. i apparently goodcondition, frequent checking must be made to forestall failures in the signal system.

One of the checking operations is to shunt the circuit between the two railsot the track and also by.- means of a suitable meter insertedin the shunt n device to measure the flow or lack of flow of current in the rails.

. The present invention relates to means for making such intrarail circuit checks, and an object of the invention is to provide such a device that will make positive c9ntac t with the rails with a minimum of-eff'ort.'

Another object is a device that may be quickly andleaSily-Putin place rrem d and the check ade y asingle. operator- Another object is a device that has automatic adjustments for variations of gauge and sizes of rails.

Another object is a device of the kind indicated which may be used by trainmen to set a stop signal in an emergency.

Still other objects will readily occur to those skilled in the art upon reference to the following description and the accompanying drawings in which Fig. l is a view, more or less diagrammatic, showing the method of use of the device.

Fig. 2 is a central longitudinal sectional view of the mid portion of the device.

Fig. 3 is a similar sectional view of one of the rail contacting ends.

Fig. 4 is a section on line 44 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 1, but showing a modification.

Fig. 6 is a vertical longitudinal section of one end of the device of Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a plan view of the same.

Fig. 8 is a section on line 8-8 of Fig. 7.

As indicated in the drawings, the device comprises two, preferably tubular members I0 and IOA, hinged together as at H and so arranged that when the hinge is opened, the two members James 0, Mock betroit, Mich,

Application January 15, 1947., .SerialNo. 722,243. 1 Claim. (c1. 24673 4) n move. s a s the position in which their axes a e. n. a gnment o h o t at i h the hin e, sm e s. n a i nment with the end$in other words, the hinged joint, is a toggle.

(9f the two mem 1 I0 and IEIA, one or both of; then; will beprov1dedwith means for elecform of a plug lilof suitable insulating material,

such as f ber, or thelike, having a reduced portion. 12A extending into. and fixed to tube ID. as the bolt or screw; [4. At its other'end, the plug 12 1s shown as having. a reduced portion 4. sur ded y a m a sleeve w c m be fixedon the part" l2 by, the screws i iA serving to hold the hinge H. Other screws MB fix the otllfir-leai of the hingeto the member IDA.

The screw. I4, is} preferably a through bolt or screw fixed by. a nut MA and having suflicient length to receive a, thumb nut [4B and serve as abinding. post 14C.

1 The free ends of members Ill and IUA are prov ded th; m ans i 2 stabl in a good contact. with the rails i5; and such means is shown inFig 3. as cpmprising what is known as an f automatic center. punch. mounted in the end of the tubular member IUA, being'slidable as a unit against a resilient backing element such as the spring I6 and held in place by a flanged nut IBA.

The automatic center punch comprises as is well known, a tubular housing 20 enclosing a spring 20A and plunger 20B and provided with an internal shoulder 2|. The plunger 2613 carries a laterally movable plug 22 through which is an opening 22A held normally in an eccentric position by a spring 223, with its end extending laterally from the plunger in position to be moved by a shoulder 2| and to thereby center the opening 22A.

In the open end of housing 20 is fixed a hollow plug 23 through which extends axially a plunger 24 provided with a flange or shoulder 24A serving as an abutment for a spring 25. The other end of spring 25 abuts against the closure member or plug 23.

The plunger 24 has its projecting end sharpened as shown and extends through plug 23 and into plunger 203 to contact plug 22. When the plunger 24 is pressed against a surface, it moves inwardly, compressing first the lighter spring 25 and, through the coaction of plunger 24 and plug 2 3, then compressing spring 20A. When plug 22 reaches the shoulder 2|, it is moved inwardly and thereby centers the opening 22A so that this end of plunger 24 may pass through plug 22 and into the short axial opening of the plunger 203. When this happens, the plunger 20B is released and, driven by spring 20A, strikes a considerable blow against the inner end of plunger 24, driving the point against and into the surface against which it is pressed.

Each of the members l and IDA may be so equipped.

Instead of the punch ends as described, it is also contemplated to use a rail contact maker such as is shown in Figs. to 8. In these figures, the hinged members Ill! and DA will be substantially the same as members I0 and |0A, but instead of the punch, will carry heads designated as a whole by the numeral 40.

Each of the heads 40 will consist of a rod 4| suitably fixed in the end of a member ID or |0A and projecting therefrom. The rod 4| is provided intermediate its ends with a. shoulder 4|A or enlargement fitting slidably in a casing 42 enclosing a suitable spring 43.

The spring 43 surrounds the outer end portion of rod 4| and is designed to act between shoulder MA and a cap 44 closing the outer end of casing 42. The rear end of casing 42 will also be closed by a cap 45 provided with a, suitable opening for rod 4 I.

The cap 44, as shown, is threaded on the casing and is provided with an internal shoulder 44A adapted to coact with spring 43 and is lengthened axially and tapered, the outer surface of the taper being corrugated peripherally with the ridges 44B quite sharp. Further, the extreme end of the cap is sharply pointed as at 44C and a'recess 44D provided for the reception of the end of rod 4|.

Either form of the device may also be provided with means for aiding in the initial placing of the shunt means and for insuring the location of the points up under the rail head.

Such means consists of a fiat spring 58 fixed to member ID (or IDA) as by bolts 50A and extending over the contact head, being spaced somewhat therefrom. The spring 50 is preferably reinforced by a stirrup 5| and second spring 52, the stirrup 5| being fixed to the head 40 and over the spring 50, while the spring 52 is fixed by bolts 59A and also extends under the stirrup 5|. This second spring 52 has its outer end bent downwardly as at 52A to provide a hump 52B normally back of the stirrup, but, when the head 40 is moved backward, the hump 52B coacts with the stirrup 5| to increase the pressure of spring 52 on spring and thereby the pressure of spring 5|! on the rail.

In making tests of the rail circuits, a suitable meter 59 will be inserted in the rail to rail circuit by fixing a lead 60 to binding post I40 and another lead 6| fixed to a suitable screw 62 fixed in member lliA or IIDA. When no test is desired but short circuiting of the rails is necessary, a conductor without the meter may extend from post |4C to screw 62.

I claim:

A railway track circuit shunt device comprising a pair of conducting members each having at one end means for making an electric contact with a rail, a hinge connecting the two members, means for insulating the one member from the other, and means for attaching a separate conductor to connect the two members, the combined length of said members and contact means being sufficient to extend from one rail to the other, said contact means including a prick punch and automatic means for delivering a hammer blow to said punch.

JAMES C. MOCK.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,228,153 Willard May 29, 1917 1,509,113 Slaker Sept. 13, 1924 2,176,616 Thompson Oct. 1'7, 1939 2,384,707 Sweet Sept. 11, 1945 2,392,064 Robinson Jan. 1, 1946 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 358,934 France Jan. 6, 1906 30,313/10 Great Britain Mar. 23, 1911 

